“I’d much rather be a traveler than a tourist.”
Kevin Hambly, the head coach of women’s volleyball at Stanford University, sits down with us in this episode of the 35,000 feet podcast going over how the past season went for him and his team, some memorable travel experiences on his own and traveling for college sports, and his advice to future collegiate athletes.
In this episode, we discuss:
How this past season went for Stanford Women’s Volleyball team (0:12)
How Coach Hambly got into coaching (4:42)
Kevin’s advice to athletes wanting to play in college (9:20)
Kevin’s favorite travel experience (11:32)
One thing that no one knows about Kevin (16:05)
Kevin’s next adventure (17:04)
The Highs and Lows for Stanford Women’s Volleyball Team’s Past Season
Morgan: Hi guys. Welcome back. It's Morgan. Today, I'm sitting down with coach Kevin Hambly from Stanford University. Thanks so much for joining us.
Kevin Hambly: Oh, happy to be on.
Morgan: We're excited to get to know you better. Can you tell us about the highs and lows of your current season?
Kevin Hambly: We'll start with the highs. Winning the national championship with that group was pretty fun.
Morgan: So amazing.
Kevin Hambly: Yeah, it was cool. And then, the highs were higher probably because of some of the lows. We had a streak where we lost three out of five matches and weren't playing great. We lost Catherine Plumber. She was out with an injury and we lost her for 10 matches and she was the two time national player of the year. And we had, I don't know, I think we changed our lineup in that 10 match streak all but from match to match. I think there's only two matches that we had the same starting group playing. We just had a couple freak things like a back go out and ankle sprain. And so that was a low is trying to sort through all that emotionally and figuring it out.
But I think also, it was the highs were that we figured out a way to go nine and one without Plumber, even though emotionally, we felt we were hurting for her and we were hurting for the other players that were out for other not quite as extended time, but we figured out a way to win. And so those what perceived lows really led to some really, really fun highs. And then to play the way we did in the tournament, we only lost two sets in the NCAA tournament. Really playing at the highest level the team has played in a long time, I think, and provided steam and ran through the tournament. I think we had over 350 for the entire tournament, even higher than that. Was pretty special and pretty fun to be a part of that.
And the coolest part about it was that I think for all of us, it wasn't about how we were performing it was more that we'd got to play together for one last time. I had a bunch of seniors and the fact that we just really enjoyed being together for one last run. And we wanted to just extend that time. And at the end of it, when we did win, even though it was exciting and it was fun, there was a lot of sadness that it was over and that we were just done playing together. And I think when I look back on the season, that's my favorite part about it is that yeah, you won the championship and you celebrate that, but we were more sad that we didn't get to be together anymore. And so, I think that's the highs and the lows, not a lot of lows, but a lot more highs.
Morgan: Yeah. Well, I love listening to the highs and lows because it shows how teams got to where they're at. And it really sounds like you guys worked really hard to get where you're at.
Kevin Hambly: Yeah. It's always winning championships aren't easy. You have to make that happen.
Morgan: It's true. No, I'm impressed. That's why I'm like, that's awesome. Well and I love that you brought up injuries too and how your team was able to work through that. Because injuries, those are hard, it takes every player is important. I can only imagine how the fact that you won, even throughout all the adversity you faced, that's amazing.
Kevin Hambly: It was really cool to see how the team responded to each injury as it came. It was just like, okay, we'll be fine. And one of the things that was really interesting that we talked about is the players that were replacing the players that started was we talk about don't disrespect the work that you've put in and trust the work you put in. And you talk about that stuff a lot. It's coach speak. You can earn confidence through working really hard and through training. That's how you earn confidence. But then when it was actually time for those players that maybe never played before, actually to get on the floor, the conversations were more about, "Hey, really trust the work you put in and don't disrespect how hard you worked or disrespect yourself as a player."
We respect you as a player and have complete confidence that you're going to be able to perform and keep us going on the right track. You don't make sure that you don't disrespect yourself. And that was really fun. And then just kind of trying the problem solving that went on, right before a match, we lost our starting opposite and we had to figure out a way to perform without her. And something happened when she was warming up and we're like, "Okay, we'll figure this out. Let's go." And we ended up winning the match in three still somehow, because the team just trusted themselves and trust the work that they put in.
Morgan: Wow.
Kevin Hambly: It was fun. Yeah, it was fun.
Morgan: Sports are so rewarding and I think especially working hard and working through those things. Thank you so much for sharing that with us.
Kevin Hambly: Of course.
Kevin Hambly’s Start in Coaching
Morgan: Yeah. And how did you get to be a coach? What's your story there?
Kevin Hambly: Yeah. Well, I was an athlete first, as most coaches are. I played in high school, played volleyball in high school. I was lucky that they had boys volleyball. I'm from Simi Valley. I went to school called Royal High School.
Morgan: Cool.
Kevin Hambly: And then I went to BYU and played collegiate volleyball there for Carl McGowan who was a legendary coach.
Morgan: Oh awesome.
Kevin Hambly: Yeah. And he's one of the best teachers in the world really and kind of caught the bug. Played professionally, planned on playing professionally longer, then got offered a job at UNLV to be an assistant coach and decided that that's really what my path was going to be. I wasn't going to be able to play for 10, 15 years. My body wasn't going to hold up anyway. Better to get into coaching and got a job coaching at UNLV. Was there five years and national team, was at it for four and then Illinois for 14. And then I've been here, this is going into my fourth year, this year.
Morgan: Wow. Oh my goodness. What's one of the biggest things you've learned, I guess, since being a coach?
Kevin Hambly: The biggest things that I've learned. I would say the most important thing I've learned is that you have to be yourself. Well two things, you have to always be yourself. To be successful in coaching, you have to make sure that you figure out your voice and that you are always yourself and that you aren't trying to be somebody else. And also probably more importantly, that coaching is what we do, not who we are. And I'd say that same thing for athletes that when I see it going bad for coaches, when I see coaches go in a bad direction, it's because their identity is wrapped up in coaching. And they see themselves as a coach. You asked me, Morgan, going into this, do you want me to call you coach or do you want me to call you Kevin? I want you to call me Kevin.
And the reason I give you is, coach is what I do, it's not who I am. I'm so much more than just that. And I give the same advice to athletes is you're not just a volleyball player. And it's easy because you get attention as a coach or a player to get wrapped up in that identity piece and to identify yourself as one of those. But for me, I think it's really important to keep that separate. And I'm not just a dad either. I'm not just a husband, I'm Kevin. And those are things that are a part of my life, but that's not me, that's not my identity, they're just things that I'm a part of. And I think that's really probably the most important thing, because as I mentioned, when things go bad it's because our identity gets wrapped up into that.
And then if we're an athlete and we perform poorly or we're a coach and our team's performing poorly, then all of a sudden we look at it as I am performing poorly. And then we take that personally, as opposed to, this is what I do and I can do a better job and I don't get caught up in that from a personal standpoint. I feel like that's when things, people get outside of themselves is when they take it too personal. And so keeping that separation, I think is probably those two things are the most important thing. Be yourself and then make sure that when you are yourself, that you're not wrapping up your identity into what you do. It's just what you do.
Morgan: Yeah. I love that. Having that balance in your life.
Kevin Hambly: It's easy to wrap your identity in what you do. Especially when you're young, especially if we're athletes because if you think about athletes, when they're in high school, I feel like when you're in your junior high, you're trying to hide out, not get attention usually because you're just awkward and all that. But once you get to high school, you try to figure out ways to separate yourself a little bit and become something or someone. And so if you're an athlete and you're this great athlete, especially the ones that we end up coaching, you're identified as this great athlete once you hit high school. Then it's easy to wrap your identity up into, I am an athlete. I'm an athlete. I'm an athlete. Whether or not you're a jock at all.
It's easy to kind of just continue down that path and then you go to college, all of a sudden, you sign to go to this great school and you do your signing thing and everyone identifies you as this athlete. It's just really easy to do that. It's really hard to keep it separate. And I'd say the same thing if you're a musician or if you're an artist or if you're this math, you're the computer science guy or a math person, it's easy to wrap up because that's how you identify. That's how you've kind of separated yourself. And so it's easy to do that, but I think finding that separation in your life.
Advice for Future Collegiate Athletes from Coach Kevin Hambly
Morgan: I totally agree with you. And I like that you mentioned with other groups too, it's just, I loved what you said. And so you made me think of a question I wanted to ask you is.
Kevin Hambly: Go.
Morgan: What advice would you give to an athlete wanting to play for a team or university?
Kevin Hambly: There's so many layers to that. What specifically are you talking about? Trying to find the right school?
Morgan: Yeah, just in general.
Kevin Hambly: I would say when you're going through the process of trying to figure out what university to go to, don't get concerned about what other people feel about that university, go with what you feel about the university, because some people are searching the sexiest school, and that doesn't mean it's the right fit, but really look at it with a clean lens and see what do you want to get out of your college experience? Try to identify that. And if you don't know, that's okay too, but try to figure out, what mostly you want. Big school, small school, high academic, party school, there's all these different kinds of schools that you can get into.
And then judge it based on what you want out of it not what other people think. Because I think some people chase the sexy school as opposed to the right school. And then they end up in a situation where it's not necessarily the right situation, both from if they're athletes or non-athletes, but especially athletes. Sometimes they chase conferences as opposed to the right school. I want to be in the Pac 12, or I want to be in the Big 10 or I really want to be in the WCC or I really want to be, instead of just figuring out what's the right school for me and letting the rest of it sort itself out.
Morgan: That's true. I like that. Looking for the things that would suit them the best that they would enjoy rather than the title. I totally agree with you.
Kevin Hambly: Yeah, because titles get really and then that gets complicated and people around you want you to go-to titles. Your parents want you to go to the best title and if your parents or your coaches want you to go because it makes them look good, and then your high school coaches want you to go to the right and your athletic director wants you to go to this school. Looks great. It doesn't mean it's the right place for you. I think it's really hard because not everyone's looking out for your self-interest in all of that, even though they think that they are, they're not necessarily because it's hard for them to separate themselves from that sometimes.
Morgan: Oh, that's so true. Well, thank you so much for that advice and just sharing that. That'll be good for people to listen to. I'm glad.
Kevin Hambly: Cool.
Kevin Hambly’s Most Memorable Travel Experience
Morgan: Yes. And then I guess onto my next question for you, what's one of your most memorable travel experiences?
Kevin Hambly: My most memorable travel experience was we hiked Machu Picchu, me and a few friends. We did the Inca Trail. Then we got off on the train. Jumped off, I think it was 110 exit, which was put us about 20 miles out, I think. And we did it in two and a half days and it was just incredible. I think the journey, we're talking about the season, getting to Machu Picchu was really cool and seeing that was amazing. But the trail itself, the Inca Trail, the destination was great, but the path and the things that we went on. We had a bunch of people with altitude sickness, including myself and I went blind in one eye and had tunnel vision in another eye. We had another person that was throwing up the whole last third of the trip.
And so I think we look back on it, all of us look at that as the most amazing experience. But yet when you describe it, you may not describe it at all as the best. You might describe it as kind of if you looked at each moment, there's some pretty awful moments but when you look back at the whole journey, the things that we experienced together as a group were pretty remarkable.
Morgan: Oh no, I think that's awesome because I feel with travel, it brings out sometimes the worst in people and the best in people, because it's just, it's such a different environment.
Kevin Hambly: Yeah. Yeah. Well, I think that's part of what makes it cool. Is seeing some of the, well, there's two ways to travel. There's a traveler and then there's a tourist and a tourist, I'm going to use a terrible, I don't know if I should use this analogy. I'm not going to use this analogy. My friend has a great analogy, but it's a little blue, so I'll stay away from it. But a traveler is, well, sorry, a tourist, it's a safe, you're like on the outside of it, looking in. They're almost like, you're just peering into this world. But if you're a traveler, you're in it. You're eating the food and it's not safe. And I would much rather be a traveler in all my experiences. Stay at local hotels and I just went to Cambodia and Vietnam and we didn't stay at any of the Marriott properties or any of that kind of stuff. We stayed at local hotels with locals and it was really, really, it made it more of an enjoyable experience because we were travelers as opposed to tourists. I didn't trek with tourists.
Morgan: Then just looking in, you're actually experiencing it.
Kevin Hambly: You're eating, you're living it. You're feeling it. Yeah, you're experiencing all of it. And that's really what travel to me should be about the experiences, not seeing things. I like being a traveler.
Morgan: Oh, no. I agree with you. I think travel is awesome. And I know you've been a college coach for a while so have you had opportunities with your team? What's been one of your most favorite travels with your teams?
Kevin Hambly: Yeah. We took the team, we've taken a team mostly to Europe and in fact, only to Europe. It's the only place I've ever taken the team. And it's been really cool too. I think my favorite is getting to some of the small towns in Italy and we let them go off and we basically, this is my favorite experience. We said, "Hey," we assigned groups of three of them, a city. And we said, "We're going to wake up in the morning. You're going to get on a train by yourselves and go to a city and go explore that city. And there we're going to come back together and over dinner, we're going to all share what we saw."
Morgan: Wow.
Kevin Hambly: Do some research, see what the city's about and then just go off on your own. And it was just for me again, it was like we were just talking about the coolest part about that is that they had to go and explore on their own and it wasn't a 100% safe. And I'm not sure administration would let me do that now. But we did it, I don't know, 10 years ago and they allowed us to do that. And I think it was a cool experience for them because it gave them confidence for the next time that they go to Europe, they'll be able to travel on their own. And then they got to go really dive into a city and go see what it was all about. And I think all of that was really, really just that was one of my favorite things to hear them come back and see the confidence that they gained, but also share the experiences that they shared to the rest of the group.
Morgan: Oh no, I love that. I love that you guys could go out and explore on their own because then they're like you mentioned, being able to be a traveler rather than a tourist.
Kevin Hambly: That was the hope. I do think there are more tourists than travelers, but at least they got some taste of it.
Morgan: It's true. It's true. Well, thank you for sharing that.
Kevin Hambly: Of course.
Fun Fact About Coach Kevin Hambly
Morgan: And what's one thing that no one knows about you that you could share with us? It's a hard one.
Kevin Hambly: Yeah. I played in an awful punk band when I was in high school.
Morgan: That's so funny.
Kevin Hambly: Freshman year at college. Yeah. That's probably, that's not a lot of people know that, but it was a terrible, terrible, punk band, like a punk band. It was we barely could play guitars and it was awful.
Morgan: Oh, wow.
Kevin Hambly: And great. It was great.
Morgan: That's awesome. Were you the one playing the guitar?
Kevin Hambly: I play guitar and I sang.
Morgan: Oh wow. Wow.
Kevin Hambly: I screamed. I screamed. It wasn't much singing. It was screaming.
Morgan: That's so funny. Do you still do that? Do you still?
Kevin Hambly: I don't scream anymore and I don't sing very much, but I've gotten a little bit better at guitar I've been playing since then. It's been a lot of years, but I have several guitars, so yeah, we still play occasionally.
Morgan: Wow. Well, this will be fun for people to listen to.
Kevin Hambly: Yeah, right.
Coach Kevin Hambly and His Team’s Next Adventure
Morgan: Yes. Well, what's you and your team's next adventure?
Kevin Hambly: Well, right now we're trying to sort out how to stay connected. This COVID-19. And then we got a season where we're trying to, I guess the next moments that are in front of us are how do we communicate? How do we keep this thing moving forward when we can't be together? And then hopefully we have a season coming up and I think we're all looking forward to just seeing how much we can grow in the season and what we can become by the end of the year. I think that's the next adventure. I tend not to look too far ahead because who knows what the future's going to hold, but that's the next adventure that I'm really excited about.
It's more of what can we become as a group? And we lost seven seniors and so we're kind of reinventing ourselves. It should be fun to see. We definitely have the talent, but it'll be fun to see how competitive we could be. And more importantly, who we can become as a group, as people and what our personality is like as a collective group, which is one of the more interesting and exciting and fun parts about being a coach is a see what your team's personality becomes throughout the season.
Morgan: No, that's true. Kind of and like, I always view sports as a team family. And so that sounds like what you're describing.
Kevin Hambly: Yeah, I think if people were running a program, they'd describe it as a family environment. The family can be tricky sometimes that word, I think everyone's definition of what family is, is different in what they're looking for. I just think we're a really cohesive team, but I think most people would say, because we're so connected and close that we have a familyish environment, but we don't use that term a lot just because of, I think some people family could be a terrible thing. And sometimes family can be dysfunctional and we just want to be a great team and good people and take care of each other in a way that we all can respect and feel proud of.
Morgan: Oh no, I couldn't have said it better myself. That's so true. And I think that's honestly, what's helped your team go so far and do so well is the mindset you have as a coach and as a team. Thank you so much for letting us get a glimpse into your team today and letting us talk to you.
Kevin Hambly: Sure, Morgan. Yeah. I appreciate you having me on and I've enjoyed catching up on the podcast that you guys have had on, you got some amazing people on there, so it's good to hear them speak as well. Thanks for sharing and thanks for what you do for coaches and people in general. Appreciate it.
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Theme Song - I’ll Just Be Me by Gravity Castle